8 Male Fertility Questions I (Sheepishly) Asked My Doctor

Struggling with your fertility as a male is a difficult period in your life. It’s hard to find someone you trust to talk to and who can recommend male fertility treatment options that are going to work. This blog post looks at three treatment options and some common questions people have about male infertility.

1. What Is A Low Sperm Count?

Low sperm count is a common issue that men experience when it comes to infertility. Low sperm count is a low concentration of healthy sperm in your ejaculate. The fewer sperm present in your ejaculate, the lower the chances are of successfully conceiving a child. Many men with low sperm count also suffer from poor sperm morality, weak sperm morphology and other issues related to sperm.

There’s a wide variety of causes when it comes to male infertility and low sperm count. Genetic abnormalities such as missing, broken or extra chromosomes can cause male fertility issues. DNA fragmentation in your sperm and damaged genes on the Y chromosome also impact your fertility as a male.

2. Infection

Infection is also a possible cause of low sperm count. Prostate and epididymis infections pose a high risk for impacting your fertility. Oxidative damage to your sperm cells and DNA may also be a cause for low sperm count. These are just a few different causes as every case is different.

The cause of your fertility problems will determine the best treatment method. After examining your medical history and analyzing your semen, your health care professional is better able to make treatment recommendations. The following are three common treatments for low sperm count.

3. Intrauterine Insemination (IU)

An intrauterine insemination is a popular form of artificial insemination. This procedure places your sperm directly into the uterus of your partner. By skipping the cervix, the sperm has a better chance of attaching itself to a healthy egg. Intrauterine insemination is a pretty effective male fertility treatment option.

4. Sperm Washing

Sperm washing is a technique that helps increase your chances of a successful pregnancy. After providing a semen sample, medical professionals carefully purify the sample in a lab. The purification process removes potential impurities and increases the concentration of healthy sperm in the sample. After washing the sperm, it can be placed via artificial insemination or used in an IVF procedure.

5. Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI)

Similar to Intrauterine insemination, ICSI is when your sperm is directly injected into a healthy egg. Intracytoplasmic sperm injections are part of the in vitro fertilization process. ICSI increases the chances of pregnancy and healthy birth.

6. How Is The Health Of My Semen Evaluated?

In order to get a proper assessment of your semen health, you need to visit an andrologist. Semen health is assessed by three main factors: mobility, morphology, and count. It’s common for men to have a certain amount of dead sperm in each ejaculation, so andrologists look at how the semen is moving and the shape of each individual sperm. Ideally, you want at least 75% of your sperm alive in each sample.

7. What Is A “Normal” Sperm Count?

Anything between 15 million and 100 million is in the normal range. Anything under 10 million is cause for concern. As long as the morphology of your sperm is normal, counts around 12-15 million are fine. Only about 10% of men have a complete lack of sperm.

8. What Can I Do On A Daily Basis To Boost Fertility?

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is a simple way you can help your body produce healthy sperm. Excessive cigarette smoking, alcohol drinking and lack of exercise damages the quality of your sperm. The idea that hot tubs, phones, and laptops cause male fertility problems is a myth. If you take care of your body, it will repay you with healthy sperm.

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Jay Bird

Writer living in Toronto, originally from Boston. Big sports fan. Huge technology geek. Loves to cook, run marathons and watch movies. I consider myself a pretty easygoing guy, but don't talk to me about politics because I've a tendency to argue (or so I've been told).

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